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Easy kale or collard “chips” you can make in your dehydrator

By Robyn Openshaw, MSW | Apr 22, 2009

GreenSmoothieGirl.com reader Tonya C. donated a recipe for yummy “chips” (I call them “crisps” because they’re really light and airy) made in the dehydrator. I have significantly altered the recipe. Brewer’s Yeast is a good way for vegans to obtain Vitamin B12.

Cheesy Kale/Collard Crisps

1/3 cup cashews, soaked 1-2 hours (optionally)

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp. water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. Original Himalayan Crystal Salt

¼ cup nutritional (or Brewer’s) yeast

2 green onions (including the green part)

½ tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1/4 tsp. turmeric

1 clove garlic

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients well in Total Blender. Press one side of 20-30 small kale or collard leaves (stems removed) in mixture and dry them for 4-6 hours in Excalibur dehydrator (until crispy).

I tried making this. The blended mixture was sooo good by itself. But I coated it on too thick and it came out really salty after drying. They were still very good and I craved them all day. I just had to shake the coating off.

Next time I will cut a bit of the salt and wipe more off the leaves after I dip them. I also thought of pouring the mixture in a plastic bag and adding the leaves to coat them.

How does one store kale chips (on the rare occasion that they don’t eat them all right away)? Last time we put them in a tupperware container, but that made them go soft. We can’t keep them out either, because the cats like them too!

I am making these in my dehydrator as we speak, but I have the same question as Charlotte, being I am “test-driving” these in hopes of making some and taking them on a road trip in a month. BTW, any other suggestions for good grab and eat snacks/foods for a hotel visit with 4-5 days full of dancing events, please suggest away! I am hoping to get a refrigerator in our room and bring my blend-tec, but I certainly could use any help you can provide!

We always travel with a cooler and plenty of extra gal. and qt size Ziplock bags, plus the basic kitchen tools for self-prep. You can always buy ice and put it in the Ziplocks and reuse the thawed ice bags for short storage.We also stop at any farmers markets we see and do a search on the Ipad while on the road for nearby markets for organic fresh produce. As a last resort we will go to the grocer. When we don’t bring the Blendtek we eat salads (my wife has books and more books on great salads) with homemade dressings. But to be honest we will sometimes eat out too. Bad, bad.

We also will bring a washable blanket and maybe small cushions to sit on so we can eat at some great outdoor spots we may happen to pass, sitting on the ground (or picnic table for stiffies) on a pleasant day, free to talk about whatever we want and be as crazy as we want beats any restaurant or dreary hotel room every time.

I read somewhere that brewer’s yeast was acidifying (source?) but doing a search and reading a few posts here (and a comment from Robin on brewer’s yeast) suggests that it is OK, so going to use it in this recipe. One thing I’m doing different is soaking the cashews in live garlic brine, and using the garlic brine instead of water, so I will be using less salt (¼ tsp). My dehydrator is a 8 tiered “Nesco GardenMaster” which goes down to 90º and has been working great for several years. My Kale is from one of those big bags of organic kale from Costco, so I’m expecting small chips.